369: Heading to the Seventh Heaven

Lu Chen quietly appeared before the boundary passage between the Ninth Heaven and the Eighth Heaven.

The Nine Heavens of the Immortal Realm were stacked layer upon layer, interlocking like lotus petals, with a "Heavenly Stairway Passage" connecting every two Heavens—either a floating corridor paved with stardust or a Secret Realm rift connected by earth veins.

These passages were not freely accessible; the right to open them was firmly held by the Heavenly Lords, Immortal Venerables, and even a few top ancient families with ancient Legacies.

Ordinary Cultivators, without a transit jade token or permission from a superior, could not pass.

At the entrance of the passage, two Peak Undergoing Tribulation guards sat cross-legged on a profound iron stone platform, clad in silver scale armor, with a "Heavenly Patrol Order" hanging from their waists, their aura steady, clearly from the elite of the Immortal Court.

The moment Lu Chen stepped out of the Void Realm ripples, the two immediately opened their eyes in alarm and sternly demanded, "Who goes there?! This is a forbidden path of the Heavenly Realm! Those who enter without permission will be killed without mercy!"

Lu Chen did not utter a single word in response.

He didn't even spare them a glance.

He merely raised his hand, and two crimson flames rose from his palm—the core of the flame was blood-red, with the unique Chaos patterns of the Chi Clan flickering at the edges, precisely the Chaos Crimson Flame that could only be condensed when the Crimson Flame Art was Cultivated to its profound depths.

The flames swept past silently, and the two guards didn't even have time to scream before their Physical Bodies were instantly incinerated into ash, and their Primordial Spirits were likewise shredded by the chaotic will within the Crimson Flame, their Souls Flying Away and Spirits Scattering.

Having done all this, Lu Chen flicked his sleeve and turned, his figure dissipating like mist into the depths of the passage.

He deliberately used the Crimson Flame to leave traces of the "Red Heart Society".

This way, if the Immortal Court investigated in the future, they would only conclude that remnants of the Scarlet Flame Army were attempting to open the Heavenly Realm passage, and would not suspect him.

The Eighth Heaven, named "Storage Realm," was in fact the wealthiest logistical hub of the entire Immortal Realm.

Strategic resources such as blood essence ore, source marrow crystal, and Dragon evil stone mined from the Ninth Heaven all converged here first, then were distributed to all the Heavens and Myriad Realms via star-ships and Void Realm passages.

Above the firmament, a thousand floating treasure ships slowly patrolled, their hulls inlaid with spirit jade, trailing rays of light;

On the ground, vast mansions stretched continuously, with "Heavenly Granaries" towering into the clouds, their doors sealed with True Immortal golden patterns, containing mountains of Spirit Medicine, Magic Treasures, and alchemical ingredients.

On the streets, Immortal servants gathered in crowds, Spirit Beasts pulled carriages, and even the lampposts by the roadside were carved from entire pieces of Chixin stone, burning day and night.

Further away, Immortal music drifted, and cups clinked in magnificent palaces—that was where the Immortal officials and aristocratic disciples responsible for scheduling were feasting.

They chatted and laughed, casually bestowing Low Grade Immortal Artifacts as if all the wealth in the sky were mere playthings in their hands.

Lu Chen's gaze swept over this extravagant scene, and a long-lost restlessness welled up in his heart.

This Eighth Heaven must contain many top-grade Ores, Magical Artifacts, and supplies.

With his strength, he could certainly empty them all.

But the thought had barely arisen before he forcefully suppressed it.

No.

Once the Eighth Heaven suffered a calamity, the Immortal Court would surely be enraged and dispatch True Immortals to thoroughly investigate the Lower Realm.

By then, the entire Nine Heavens would be turned upside down.

And his most important task was not to disrupt things, but to—hide, Cultivate, and endure for five hundred years.

"Impatience spoils great plans," he murmured to himself, the last ripple in his eyes settling into silence.

Because the Seventh Heaven had been completely destroyed in the ancient divine war, its Heavenly Dao Laws were shattered, Spiritual Qi was depleted, and the entire area had long become a dead zone—without sun or moon, without vitality. Due to this, the passage from the Eighth Heaven downwards was divided into two:

One was the main path currently in use, forcibly rerouted by a powerful Immortal Court figure using the power of Law, bypassing the ruins of the Seventh Heaven and directly connecting to the Sixth Heaven, ensuring an uninterrupted flow of materials;

The other was the long-abandoned old path—the once glorious "Heavenly Pivot Passage," now only ruins, enveloped by layers of Chaos turbulence and spatial rifts.

Lu Chen arrived at that desolate place, which people avoided as if it were a plague.

At the entrance of the abandoned passage, a huge spatial vortex floated, over a thousand zhang in diameter, its edges constantly tearing and healing, emitting a low hum like a Dragon's roar.

Inside the vortex was not darkness, but surging, distorted light and shadows; a slight misstep would mean the annihilation of one's Physical Body and the eternal imprisonment of one's Divine Soul in the cracks of space-time.

Because of this, there were no traces of human activity for ten thousand miles around, and even the patrolling Heavenly Immortal guards considered this place taboo.

The Seventh Heaven had long become synonymous with Hell.

However, Lu Chen stood before the vortex, his expression as calm as if watching a stream.

He didn't even summon any protective Magic Treasures; he simply took a light step, and like returning home, he voluntarily stepped into the chaotic maw that devoured all things.

The moment Lu Chen stepped into the Seventh Heaven, he felt as if he had fallen into a graveyard.

There was no sky here, nor earth; heaven and earth had been completely shattered in the ancient divine war.

Above the firmament were countless floating fragments of shattered continents, their edges charred black like charcoal, slowly rotating, emitting dazzling spatial sparks when they collided with each other;

The earth was cracked into spiderweb-like abysses, bottomless, occasionally spewing out dark red poisonous mist carrying highly toxic energy that corroded the Divine Soul.

The air was filled with a special gas called "Spirit-Eroding Miasma," grayish-green and viscous like oil, which not only contained no Spiritual Qi but actively devoured the spiritual power within a Cultivator's body.

An ordinary Golden Core Cultivator could not last half a day here, and even a True Immortal, without special protection, would have their Cultivation drained within a few days, becoming a mortal body.

Even more terrifying was the state of the Law in this realm.

Lu Chen tried to extend his Divine Sense—with his Divine Thought strength comparable to a Saint Immortal, he should have been able to cover an entire realm, but here, it was firmly suppressed within a hundred miles!

Extending further out, his Divine Sense felt like it was hitting a bronze wall and iron barrier, even being torn by the disordered spatial turbulence, causing a faint pain.

"Laws completely destroyed, rules disintegrated..." Lu Chen murmured to himself, without fear in his eyes, instead, the corners of his mouth slightly curved, "This is simply a heaven-sent place for seclusion."

No wonder the Immortal Court listed this place as a forbidden zone, and no wonder those desperate death row inmates, rebellious Immortals, and descendants of criminal clans would rather risk death to escape into the Seventh Heaven—here, no one could track you with Divine Sense, and even the Heavenly Dao's surveillance was effectively useless.

Ordinary Cultivators would find it difficult to move an inch here, but Lu Chen was different.

His inner Grotto-heaven had already evolved to its extreme: nine great stars hung high, the galaxy flowed, and even a miniature star system had developed.

Spiritual power self-circulated, endlessly, requiring not a single trace of external Spiritual Qi for sustenance.

He stood in the Void Realm, with a pure land formed within three feet around him, the Spirit-Eroding Miasma dispersing as soon as it approached.

Even more astonishing was that he could fly.

In the Seventh Heaven, flying was an extremely luxurious act.

Without Spiritual Qi to lift one, flying relied entirely on one's own spiritual power to sustain, consuming so much that even a True Immortal Cultivator would shy away.

Yet Lu Chen walked through the air as if on flat ground, his robes gently fluttering, as if this place was still an Immortal land abundant with Spiritual Qi.

Flying over a thousand miles of ruins, he noticed scattered human settlements.

Those people were dressed in rags, yet their bones and muscles were like iron, and their eyes were sharp as eagles.

They had long abandoned the path of Immortal Cultivation, turning instead to pure martial arts—using their flesh and blood as a furnace, and their will as fire, to forge physiques that surpassed mortals.

Around the villages, defensive walls were often piled high with the skeletons of giant beasts, trophies from their hunts of Yao Beasts.

And the Yao Beasts here were also not ordinary.

They had long evolved a way of survival that did not require spiritual power, feeding on carrion, poisonous miasma, and even human flesh and blood, their hides tough as profound iron, their claws and teeth highly poisonous, exceptionally fierce.

Lu Chen did not disturb these survivors struggling to live; his target was the deeper, more desolate hinterland.